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Language:
English
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Published:
2024-09-13
Words:
396
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
105
Kudos:
90
Bookmarks:
13
Hits:
656

“Mebbe sing us that lullaby?”

Summary:

“…Angel?”

“Yes, Crowley?”

“Mebbe sing us that lullaby?”

[...] Azekiel closes his eyes, and sings the words that his mother’s voice had woven into the air above his bed on countless evenings of his childhood.

It's Azekiel's mother's lullaby from Sky Clear Blue. That's it, that's all it is 🙂

Notes:

Sky Clear Blue is a soon-to-be-finished longfic (WHICH YOU SHOULD READ, go ahead and open it in another tab RIGHT NOW) in which a lullaby from Azekiel's (this AU's Aziraphale) childhood plays a big part. I may have been so desperate to know what it was supposed to sound like that I promised Steph I'd record a version if she sent me the original... 😅 (and I may have had an inordinate amount of fun doing it)

...and then I took the liberty of also reading a tiny snippet from when Azekiel first sings it to Crowley in a nest of blankets, under rainbow fairy-lights. To my relief, Steph does not seem to mind.

Similar caveats apply as for my podfic attempts: I can sing and speak and all, but my skills at recording and editing are limited. I've spent fuckin' days trying to learn GarageBand for this (GarageBand and I are NOT friends okay we are on speaking terms but that is IT) but you can't expect any impressive feats of production or anything, it is what it is <3

ETA: There's been some issues with the players - let me know if that persists for you; if so, then the download links at least all seem to work!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Azekiel's lullaby:

(Download: ogg | m4a | mp3)

A tiny snippet from chapter 10:

(Download: ogg | m4a | mp3)




Crowley sighs, closing his eyes, and as a smile stretches his mouth, Azekiel gazes at the dusting of freckles over his friend’s face. There is one particular cluster, on his left cheekbone, that is rather like a star. Azekiel wishes that he could trace that shape with his fingers…or perhaps with his lips.

“…Angel?”

“Yes, Crowley?”

“Mebbe sing us that lullaby?”

“Oh! I…” But Azekiel’s reflexive opposition softens as quickly as it had sprung. He has never sung to anyone, and has not the faintest idea of whether his voice is worthy of being heard, but somehow, none of that seems to matter. There is only Crowley, watching him in the midst of this ethereal rainbow of light.

Azekiel closes his eyes, and sings the words that his mother’s voice had woven into the air above his bed on countless evenings of his childhood.

Once upon a purple moonlight
Once upon a sway-strong breeze
Once upon a snowflake journey
Once upon a deep blue sea

Once upon a midnight puddle
Once upon a summer bough
Once upon a grass-dawn season
Once upon a time right now

Sky clear blue…
Sky clear blue…
Sky clear blue…

Once upon a blue moon rising
Once upon a jumping cloud-dive
Once upon a sand-quilt blanket
Once upon a star-scarred sky

Once upon a shadow-corner
Once upon a jay-blue bird
Once upon a ruby river
Once upon a time I heard

Sky clear blue…
Sky clear blue…
Sky clear blue…

He trails off. There are more verses, lines that he and his mother had composed together, but this is the core of it, the words that had made his heart swell and his imagination bloom, the tune that still makes him ache with homesickness for places never visited and wonders never beheld.

He opens his eyes at last…and neither he nor Crowley have need to pass a single word between them. Azekiel Sees Crowley, and knows that he himself is Seen in return, in a manner even more complete and profound than if they had been nude: mutual understanding, and acceptance, and appreciation.

They say nothing, but their tears speak volumes.

Sky Clear Blue, chapter 10, "And All the World Wonders"